1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to apparatus for scrubbing an automobile or other object. As every car owner well knows, the chore of washing or waxing an automobile is an inconvenient and even irksome one. The worker generally requires a number of different pieces of equipment such as a hose, a bucket, a cloth, a chamois, etc. He is then required to work with one or more of these items in each hand and/or to repeatedly change the item with which he is working. To this inconvenience is added a great deal of stooping, bending, and stretching on his part in an effort to reach all parts of the car. The task is rarely accomplished without wetting ones clothes. Such a chore could be greatly simplified by apparatus which combines the functions of the various pieces of equipment ordinarily used and also by apparatus which allows the worker easier access to the various parts to be washed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, a number of car washing devices have been designed, but none have been entirely satisfactory or widely accepted. One of the main problems with such devices is that they do not adequately conform to the contours of the object being washed. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,538,542 to Tucker. This device comprises a hollow rod having one end connected to a water hose. At the other end of the rod there is mounted a disc carrying a washing material such as sheepskin.
While the disc and sheepskin can be compressed to fit into at least some crevices, it is difficult to make them conform well to many concave areas, and there is no convenient way of making the washing surface as a whole conform to the configuration of convex areas of the car. This is not only inefficient in terms of the use of water and time and energy of the worker but also conducive to skipping over various spots on the surface of the car.
Other devises, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,775,235, have employed a flexible washing mop which fits over the worker's hand. Thus, the hand can be used to help the mop conform to various parts of the car. However, due to the limitations of the flexibility of the human hand, there are still a number of contours on the car's surface which the mop as a whole can not be made to fit. Then the effective scrubbing surface is only that small portion of the mop adjacent the worker's fingertips. Furthermore, the device offers no solution to the problem of washing hard to reach places. It actually offers little advantage over ordinary hand washing except that water may be supplied directly to the mop which is held in place on the worker's hand.
Thus, the need for a more effective device can readily be appreciated.